The Tour de France standings were shaken up on Stage 2 of the Tour de France, though certainly not by any big attacks from the GC favourites, as we were expecting. The rankings established during Saturday’s team time trial were largely maintained, although one big name did drop out of the top ten. The real story came from those GC hopefuls who weren't able to keep up with UAE, and therefore lost time.
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Jonas Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike had won the team time trial on Day 1, allowing the Dane to take the yellow jersey. That jersey was defended in Stage 2, though Vingegaard had to watch as UAE Emirates-XRG, with Isaac del Toro and Tadej Pogacar, scored a dominant 1-2 finish.
As a result, Vingegaard now has the UAE duo hot on his heels after two stages, with Pogacar just 6 seconds behind (thanks to 6 bonus seconds) and Del Toro now in fourth place, 16 seconds back. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) finished third and is now also third in the general classification. Juan Ayuso rounds out the top 5, 19 seconds back.
Lipowitz and Uijtdebroeks lose more time at Tour de France
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Behind the leading four, most of the general classification contenders held their own fairly well. Florian Lipowitz, riding for Red Bull, once again lost a bit more time than Evenepoel, finishing 10 seconds behind the stage winner.
Cian Uijtdebroeks lost 27 seconds and is now even further from the top ten, after losing nearly 2 minutes on Day 1 due to cramps. Thymen Arensman finished 47 seconds behind, but does not appear to be aiming for a spot in the general classification on behalf of Netcompany INEOS. He finished alongside Mathieu van der Poel.
Cian Uijtdebroeks got off to a rough start in the Tour de France
Tiberi loses a lot of time at the 2026 Tour de France
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The big loser of the day? Antonio Tiberi, riding for Bahrain Victorious. The Italian was the first to finish on Saturday, but while teammate Lenny Martinez placed eighth in the results, Tiberi didn’t finish until 5.44 minutes later on Sunday! As a result, he is now already more than 6 minutes behind the yellow jersey.
Kévin Vauquelin can also kiss the general classification goodbye. The French rider from Netcompany INEOS suffered a flat tire on Saturday and lost time; just like Tiberi in Stage 2, he dropped out on the first climb up Montjuïc. He finished 6.52 minutes behind the winner.
David has been working in the sports & cycling industry for 16 years. Covering racing, business and technology, he has worked in communications for cycling companies, teams, and as a journalist. His proudest achievement is winning the first bike race he ever entered. He hasn't won a race since.